The present invention pertains generally to a safety cabinet for flammable, combustible, or other hazardous materials. More particularly, the present invention relates to a safety cabinet having a door with a latch system.
A safety cabinet for storing flammable or explosive materials is known in the art. Such a safety cabinet located at a plant allows for the onsite storage of flammable material. The safety cabinet can be provided to insulate flammable material stored within it from the direct effects of an external fire to prevent the flammable material from adding to the deleterious effect of the original fire. Often, either according to law or to an internal standard operating procedure, the safety cabinet is equipped with a locking mechanism, which provides an added safety feature by preventing inadvertent, improper usage of the flammable material and by allowing access to the flammable material to be restricted only to authorized personnel. However, when a container of flammable material is stored in a lockable safety cabinet, users of the safety cabinet frequently neglect to lock up such material between uses. This failure to use the locking mechanism can be through oversight or through the preference for the convenience and heightened accessibility that result from the liquid being freely and readily available.
Previous safety cabinets have included a mechanism for automatically closing the door to increase the cabinet""s functionality as a safety device. Thus, a safety cabinet was provided that automatically closes and latches the safety cabinet in response to conditions of combustion to eliminate the need for concern over the necessity for closing the cabinets.
Nonetheless, these devices are susceptible to accidental opening of the doors. Moreover, even when the cabinet doors are latched and locked, the handle, which protrudes from the door surface of the cabinet, can be easily broken by forklifts or other heavy machinery operating in such work environments where a safety cabinet may be found.
To provide improved control over the safety cabinet such that accidental opening of the cabinet or breakage of the cabinet can be minimized, the present invention provides a latch system having a paddle handle that is substantially flush with the outer surface of the door of the safety cabinet. The disposition of the paddle handle substantially flush with the outer door surface serves to minimize the occurrence of inadvertent operation of the handle to open the door and of damage to the handle. The latch system, in conjunction with an automatic door closure system, provides a simple and efficient way not only to latch the cabinet door but also to effectively selectively retain the door and the handle in a latched position. By presenting a substantially flush outer appearance, the handle effectively prevents accidental opening of the safety cabinet, yet it does so without significantly adding to the complexity of using the latch system. Furthermore, the substantially flush position of the handle minimizes the possibility of damage to the handle by incidental contact with the safety cabinet.
In one aspect of the present invention, a safety cabinet includes a door closure system which automatically closes and latches the door responsive to conditions of combustion. The safety cabinet includes an enclosure that defines an opening and a cavity. A door is rotatably attached to the enclosure, the door being rotatable between an open position and a closed position. When in the closed position, the door, covers the opening of the enclosure. The door includes an outer surface, a recess, a first opening, a second opening, and a third opening. A closure system is operably arranged with the door to bias the door to the closed position. A retaining system is provided to retain the door in the open position. The retaining device includes a fusible link, which is mounted to the door and the enclosure. The fusible link is constructed such that the fusible link will fuse when the ambient temperature is above a selected level to thereby detach the link from the enclosure to allow the closure system to move the door to the closed position.
A latch system is provided that includes a paddle handle, first and second slide plates, first and second latch rods, and a bullet slam latch. The paddle handle is disposed in the recess of the door such that the paddle handle is substantially flush with the outer surface of the door. The paddle handle includes an operating lever, a first linkage, an opposing second linkage, and a slide. The operating lever is accessible from the outer surface of the door and is moveable to an open position. The operating lever is operably arranged with the slide such that operating the handle moves the slide. The first and second linkages are journaled to the slide such that when the slide moves during movement of the operating lever to the open position, the first and second linkages move toward each other. The first and second linkages each include a pin. The first and second slide plates are slidably mounted to the first and second linkages, respectively, of the paddle handle.
The first and second slide plate both include an elongated slot having the pin of the first and second linkages, respectively, disposed therein. The first and second slide plates are each moveable over a selected range of travel with respect to the pin of the first and second linkages, respectively. The first and second latch rods are respectively mounted to the first and second slide plates and each has a bevel end with an inclined portion configured to engage the enclosure. A spring is provided adjacent each bevel end to bias the respective latch rod to an extended position such that the bevel end projects from the first and second openings, respectively, of the door. The latch rods are moveable over a range of travel between the extended position and a retracted position. The bullet slam latch is mounted to the slide of the paddle handle. The bullet slam latch includes a catch and a spring to bias the catch to an extended position such that the catch projects from a third opening of the door. The catch is moveable over a range of travel between the extended position and a retracted position.
These and other objects and advantages, as well as additional inventive features, of the present invention will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the detailed description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, provided herein.